Secondary (rechargeable) lithium and lithium-ion batteries have become the standard in today's marketplace for use in portable electronics. Recently, there has been a desire to use these secondary batteries in new markets where high power capabilities are necessary, such as with power tools, electric bikes and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). In particular, these applications require batteries that have the ability to deliver or retake energy in short periods of time. In addition, there continues to be a need to increase the safety and decrease the cost of these secondary batteries, particularly in these new markets.
The positive electrode active materials typically used for secondary lithium and lithium-ion batteries are lithium metal oxides such as LiCoO2, LiNiO2, and LiMn2O4. Although these active materials have been successfully used with portable electronics, these materials do not possess the high power capabilities needed for use with power tools, electric bikes and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Accordingly, there is a need to provide new positive electrode active materials for these new markets.